How to Not Let Conflict Disrupt Productivity
What increases or kills productivity is a regular talking point. We all know how much our relationships can influence our motivation, mood, and overall results. That’s why it’s so important to nurture communication with colleagues; solving possible issues before conflict arises.
In this article, we’ll tell you how to prevent or settle heated situations. Be sure that your productivity won’t be affected by social problems anymore! :)
8 Tips for Maintaining Healthy Atmosphere between Colleagues
These recommendations will be useful for any employee, be you a junior specialist or manager.
1. Set ground rules to not face such issues
It’s great if your company provides an employee handbook that contains a checklist for conflict situations. If not, a team leader may create theirs within the team. If you are a team member, suggest this idea and put the thoughts of teammates together to address this checklist in the future.
2. Conduct 1–1 meetings with team leaders and HR
Regular meetings to catch up on both work and social questions help highlight concerns before they turn into serious problems. HR managers support relationships between employees and can help advise or organise a separate call for people who need to improve their communication.
3. Support open communication
When you feel that there’s a misunderstanding affecting your work, invite the other party to dialogue. Ask them to vocalise any concerns and questions before getting things done. It’s always better to discuss possible issues in advance, not after there are results with which your colleagues are unhappy.
4. Set boundaries and rules for criticism
People are rarely happy to hear words of criticism. Of course, some may treat criticism as an opportunity for growth, but even they can get tired of it. Guidelines are useful here. For example, using ‘I’-sentences together with positive structures works great. The phrase ‘I suggest we do that thing differently and improve the results this way’ always works better than ‘You have done a bad job.’
5. Analyse underlying issues in a calm state
If a conflict situation arises, think of what stands behind it. Pause and live those emotions. Don’t be in a hurry to solve the problem right away — you risk spoiling relationships with your colleague. Before resolving the case, collect objective information about the cause of your disagreement. Only then can you start a real discussion.
6. Respect others’ privacy
Don’t discuss personal claims with your colleagues in public. Better talk to them privately in a separate meeting room or in messengers.
However, if you think that you won’t get along on the issue, ask the team leader or HR manager about their neutral point of view. A fresh look at the problem can aid the steps to conflict resolution.
7. Brainstorm solutions to every problem
This is not obligatory but generating several ways of settling complex situations will not only allow you to find a common language with colleagues but also save yourself from future conflicts. You will have an arsenal of creative ideas on how to stay calm and friendly.
8. Learn and share knowledge of communication
Share useful tips and tricks on how to become good friends with your colleagues. Don’t hide them from others. Share this information with the team just to remind everyone that we all have room for growth, and it’s okay to be developing our social skills.
By the way, if you liked this article, you can share it as well! ;) And if you want more tips like these, clap for the article and the Collabio team will prepare more!
